Economic Developments – Baghdad
Mazhar Muhammad Saleh, Financial Adviser to the Prime Minister, announced on Monday that the government has embarked on a robust economic strategy aimed at fostering growth and mitigating unemployment rates. He emphasized that the establishment of new industrial cities will serve as a cornerstone for an impending economic renaissance.
In his statements, Saleh detailed that the government’s economic blueprint is designed to bolster the national economy by achieving non-oil GDP growth rates of at least 5%. He also highlighted a target to gradually reduce unemployment to a stable rate of 4% in the foreseeable future.
Saleh elaborated on the necessity of prioritizing economic development initiatives, particularly in supporting the manufacturing sector, which has the potential to absorb up to 60% of unemployed individuals. This focus not only diversifies national income sources but also accelerates growth in the gross domestic product.
To achieve these objectives, the government is pursuing a three-pronged approach that includes fostering youth lending initiatives, which have successfully engaged numerous youth groups to stimulate workforce participation. A “leadership bank” is being proposed, aimed at providing comprehensive government-backed loans to small and medium-sized industrial enterprises. Additionally, a sovereign guarantees committee is being formed to facilitate funding for large-scale industrial projects through state-backed bank loans, in partnership with key industrialized nations like those in Western Europe and Japan.
Saleh emphasized that these initiatives are concentrated on advancing five pivotal industrial sectors: infrastructure industries linked to developmental routes, reconstruction projects, pharmaceuticals, petrochemical and oil derivative industries, as well as advanced engineering disciplines. There is also a strategic focus on enhancing the oil sector and leveraging natural gas to augment the electrical energy domain.
He asserted that the newly established industrial cities will be fundamental to Iraq’s comprehensive industrial development strategy, reinforcing that the industrial revitalization is anchored in a strategic vision that emphasizes collaboration between the state and the private sector, in alignment with the principles of a “social market economy.”
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